Unaffiliated voters for at least the next five years should be able to join a political party at the polls if they want to participate in a primary election, a legislative interim committee decided Wednesday.

The recommendation by the Government Operations Interim Committee will go to the 2008 Legislature for action and would apply only to unaffiliated voters who want to participate in Republican primary elections. Utah Democrats do not close their primaries.

Lawmakers changed the law in 2003 to allow unaffiliated voters a chance to participate in primary elections after the Utah GOP closed its primaries to non-Republicans, but the Legislature set a July 1, 2008, sunset date for the provision.

The committee on Wednesday voted 9-2 to recommend that lawmakers extend the law for another five years.

Without the extension, by mid-2008, unaffiliated voters would be required to declare themselves Republicans 30 days in advance in order to vote in a GOP primary. The extension does not affect Democrats, who would have to switch their party 30 days in advance if they wanted to vote in a Republican primary.

Todd Weiler, vice chairman of the Utah Republican Party, told the committee that over the past five years, the number of unaffiliated voters has dropped. Extending the provision may continue that trend, Weiler said.

Currently, 56 percent of Utah voters are not signed up with a political party. Weiler said that number was about 20 percent higher before the GOP required voters to be registered Republicans to participate in its primary elections.

Weiler said the GOP's state central committee solidly supports extending the option for unaffiliated voters to declare themselves Republicans at the polls and vote, although a few party officials still believe only "true-blue" members should be able to participate.

But Weiler said most Republican officials believe that if someone wants to vote GOP, "we want them to be able to come and participate in that primary and not be turned away because they didn't register" with the party in advance.

Two Democrats on the committee questioned the current practice. Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley, complained he's been "recruited" at the polls to change his party affiliation. Weiler said while that could be happening, he is not aware of it.

Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, asked how clergy and others who are supposed to remain politically neutral are affected when they can't vote without joining a political party. Weiler said it hasn't been a problem for him or for the current GOP party chairman, Stan Lockhart, to serve as a bishop in the LDS Church while participating in party politics.

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